One ethical question was hotly debated at the Asilomar Conference: “Should genes or parts of genes be patentable since a gene is a product of nature?” Look up the requirements for a patent and explain why you think Genentech was allowed to patent recombinant insulin.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act states the following:
“Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine,
manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful
improvements thereof, may obtain a patent, subject to the conditions
and requirements of this title.”
Translated, the description of what can be patented is a useful process,
machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful
improvement of an item, and not an abstract idea or a law of nature or
natural phenomena such as electromagnetic waves (light). It must be new,
and therefore, people have to search previous patents to make sure no one
else has patented it. It must be nonobvious, which means that it cannot
be obviously a patented item with a diff erent color or size. For example, if
a small red bucket is patented, you cannot patent a large red bucket or a
yellow bucket. Cloned human insulin can be patented because as a cloned
protein, it is no longer in its natural state nor a hormone that regulates the
uptake of sugar. It is being used to treat diabetes.